ENCINITAS — A pilot program developed through a partnership between the city of Encinitas and the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce aims to get residents and visitors out exploring the city through walking routes that highlight its cultural and historical attractions.
At its Oct. 14 meeting, the Encinitas City Council agreed to allocate $5,000 for the program’s first phase, which will establish two Cultural Loops.
The program would feature an online interface connecting notable locations throughout the city via sidewalks, allowing residents and visitors to explore preselected destinations along designated walking routes.
The first two routes identified for Phase 1 include surf-and-skate and historic loops. The surf-and-skate route would feature locations such as Hansen Surfboards, Encinitas Community Park and Beacon’s Beach, according to city documents. However, the final routes could change based on user feedback.
Councilmember Joy Lyndes said the routes would include potential starting points near parks or coffee shops with available parking and restroom facilities.
She said the idea emerged from discussions among the Chamber of Commerce, Encinitas Historical Society and the city’s Cultural Tourism Subcommittee, on which she serves alongside Deputy Mayor Jim O’Hara, about “what is the culture of our community and how can we profile that in these walking loops.”
A second phase would expand the program and could include QR codes or other physical signage, potentially installed at ground level. The estimated $50,000 expansion would require future council approval as part of the city’s operating budget.
“After we get through Phase 1, we hope to have … worked out all the kinks and then Phase 2 would either expand these loops or expand into more loops which are different topic areas – maybe art and murals – for some amazing cultural loops.”
Mayor Bruce Ehlers supported the initiative but raised concerns about sign clutter, saying he preferred digital applications or sidewalk-level markers.
Councilmember Luke Shaffer said the initiative complemented the city’s new skate feature committee.
Rescue Mission
The Encinitas City Council unanimously approved a contract with the San Diego Rescue Mission for up to 12 dedicated shelter beds at its South County Lighthouse facility in National City.
The agreement, valued at up to $1.1 million, was approved Oct. 14 after being introduced the previous month.
Several council members characterized the agreement as a temporary solution, noting that Rescue Mission officials told them in September the organization was exploring opening a North County Lighthouse facility, potentially in Carlsbad, closer to the support networks of people experiencing homelessness in Encinitas.
Lyndes said the approximately 30-mile distance between Encinitas and National City was “not ideal” and “too far away,” but described the agreement as a reasonable transition from the city’s previous partnership with Vista at the Buena Creek Navigation Center.
“I feel that we need to have a program where we house and we help treat uh our unhoused here in our community,” she said. “And because we no longer can proceed with a program at Vista, this is hopefully an interim.”
Ehlers said the Rescue Mission was intended to serve as a “regional resource” and reiterated his support for a treatment-first approach rather than a housing-first model.
“This is temporary,” he said. “We don’t want to send people that far away because they have family relationships here typically and we want to keep them as close as possible. So as soon as we can, we will get them out of National City.”
Shaffer pointed to the Rescue Mission’s 56-year history and record of providing services, arguing that its treatment-focused approach would benefit people experiencing chronic homelessness due to mental illness, substance use disorders and other challenges requiring intervention.
He also described homelessness as a “heart problem not a people problem.”
“San Diego Rescue Mission, they are becoming the regional solution because they’re the ones that have done it right,” he said. “And we’re putting our money behind the horse that has been doing it right, that isn’t taking the government money or [with] government requirements, meaning housing first. They’re not going to bend to some kind of government money that forces them to do something. And that’s the appropriate thing.”
Short-term rentals
In another action, the Encinitas City Council unanimously approved changes to the city’s short-term rental regulations to streamline administrative procedures for city staff and rental operators.
The ordinance, approved Oct. 14, includes several changes to permitting, tax collection and oversight requirements.
Among the revisions is extending the permit renewal period from annually to once every three years, according to city documents.
The ordinance also allows the city to collect transient occupancy taxes directly from short-term rental facilitators, who would remit the funds to the city.
Additional changes update definitions and modify auditing requirements related to short-term rental operations.
